Tennessee Kroger Shooting Gunman Was Third-Party Vendor

Police on Friday said the gunman in a shooting at a Kroger grocery store that killed one and injured 14 others was a third-party vendor for Kroger who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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Police Chief Dale Lane said Friday that officials are “getting a clearer picture of what occurred” but did not confirm the shooter’s motive. The suspect, who was found dead at the back of the store, was identified as Uk Thang, 29.

Uk Thang

Of the 15 people who were shot, 10 were Kroger employees and five were customers, Lane said.

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The gunman acted alone and worked as a third-party vendor for Kroger, Lane said. Lane declined to name the gunman during a media briefing, saying he didn’t “want to give him notoriety.” But police later confirmed the shooter’s identity. {snip}

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Lane said the gunman had previous “minor charges,” Lane said, but did not specify.

The shooting started at about 1:30 p.m. CDT Thursday at the Kroger in Collierville, about 30 miles east of Memphis. Police said they were immediately on scene and officers began making their way into the store to respond to what Lane called “the most horrific event that’s occurred in Collierville history.”

Local and federal law enforcement agencies responded; dozens of patrol cars, two tactical unit vehicles, and ambulances neighboring counties were on scene by 2 p.m.

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Workers hid in freezers and hunkered down in locked offices. One store employee was rescued from the roof, Lane said.

Witnesses, both shoppers and employees, who trickled out of the Kroger on Thursday described hearing what they thought were balloons popping before the reality of the situation became clear. Police escorted a crowd of roughly 40 to the center of the parking lot to take statements. Outside of the crime scene tape, family members of shoppers and workers waited to find their loved ones.

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